Pomly

My good pal JJ sent me this crazy assortment of heads and parts. When I first started using some dolly heads in my plushes a few years ago, it was because I was on a mission to get rid of stuff. I used up all the doll faces I had on hand and then I started buying more because it was so much fun. A lot more. Now I have a big box full of them and friends are sending them to me from far away places. Mission NOT accomplished, but that is OK. I can't wait to use these, especially the happy clowns!


We went to see the Cherry Blossoms in Branch Brook Park in Newark the other day. It was like a fantasy land with all those trees in bloom. There were so many blooming trees! Supposedly they have more cherry trees than DC and they are working on planting 2000 more this year! We spent the day there with one of my oldest friends and his family. Their son is 2 months younger than our baby girl. It's so nice having kids the same age. It was a beautiful day at the park!

(x-posted from Harada Blogada)

6 years old, wow!

Thanks for hanging out with us for six years so far, you lovable pesky stinky adorable thing, you!

Amy's Flickr set

(x-posted from Harada Blogada)

There is a blog all about ice cream people. That means any ice cream with human characteristics. (There is a blog about anything and everything these days, isn't there? Gotta love the internets!) Well this blog is awesome in my book. I love ice cream people! I found it a few months ago via Angie Mason's Memory Jar Journal and added it to my bloglines. I decided to tell the blog author about my very own ice cream plushes and he posted them right away. How very nice! Now I think he is double awesome and he said I am awesome too. Yay for blog love!



Real ice cream is one of the hardest things to photograph. When you see a beautiful picture of ice cream, it's probably really shortening or some other kind of non-ice cream fake stuff. I love making ice cream with our little home ice cream maker. I can't deny that I use strawberry Quik powder often in my cooking, despite my efforts to be healthy and use all natural and organic ingredients. Strawberry Quik - fail! It is my weakness. I even bought the huge 72 serving size. I didn't even know they made such a big size and then I kinda spazzed a little when I saw it in the store. I squealed "THIS IS NEW!" and my husband kinda pretended he wasn't with me. I made some strawberry frozen pudding and it was quite good. I thought I had a great photo of it on the camera screen, but when I got it on the computer it looked like slop. So I am not even going to show it. But it was soo yummy! Here is my recipe:

2 cups milk
6 tbs strawberry Quik
3 tbs cornstarch

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and place over a low flame. Stir constantly until boiling. Cook one more minute, still stirring. Remove from flame and cool completely. Put pudding in ice cream maker and freeze according to ice cream maker instructions.

Next time I make this I will try again to get a good picture, but I imagine it will still look like slop. It is really pink and pretty, you will have to trust me! Here is a nice dessert picture to make up for it.



Wednesday was international day at my son's school. They held a feast and the parents were invited. I made these German Spice cookies called Gewurzplatzchen. They were very tasty! It was a bit of a challenge to find a German cookie recipe that didn't have nuts and also coordinated with what I had in my cabinets. After clicking around a little while, I found this recipe. Internet, I love you! I think the dough would work well for cut out cookies, so next time I will try making these in fun shapes.

Here is the recipe.

(x-posted from Harada Blogada)

Kristen of Schmancy asked me a few questions. You can read my answers over on the Plush You blog. The fun part about the interview is that there is a giveaway too. Just comment over there with your favorite two colors and animals. One winner will be chosen to receive a custom plush made by me based on their choices! Big thanks to Kristen for saying such sweet things about me; I'm seriously blushing!

In other news about making plushies and giving them away, if you make plushies and would like to help out a good cause, please check out Softies for Mirabel.

It was sooooo nice out today. The kiddies and I spent a good amount of time playing in the dirt in our little urban yard. It's nothing like the megabackyard we had in Ohio, but the plot I till is actually about the same size. We've already got oregano, mint, rocket, and a bunch of flowers peeking out! Tomorrow I hope to get some seeds in the ground.



(x-posted from Harada Blogada)

Softies Central hosts a wonderful contest called the Softie Awards. The second annual is now well underway with over 500 pictures already submitted! Check out the plushy goodness in the Flickr pool. You have until April 18 to submit your own softie.

Here's one of my favorites from the Softies Awards contenders. His name is Phillip and he loves Bob Marley. How cute is that? I love Bob too. I dig the boxy head and all the details on this guy. He looks so happy and relaxed. Let's get together and feel all right! Phillip is made by Emily Molloy and you can check out more of her work on her Flickr.



(x-posted from Harada Blogada)

I'll be joining the fine Etsy folks at their booth at Brooklyn Flea to sell some creatures and spread the word about my next plush class. Cal Patch (Hodge Podge) will be also there and a few others too. I love Cal and am looking forward to a fun day! Hope to see you there!
brownstoner.com/brooklynflea
etsy.com
hodgepodgefarm.blogspot.com

(x-posted from Harada Blogada)

Mod Duck has a new job: AMBASSADOR!

The artists for Crammed Organisms have been chosen. Go check them out. Tons of awesomeness!

I just installed wordpress on my website. I've been wanting to host the blog on my own website for a while now, but I didn't want to leave LJ because you are all so nice here. So I decided I'll just x-post and see how that goes. So maybe you'll follow me over there or just stay here. No big diff.

Harada Blogada

Some more pictures from the PLUSH! show.
www.hellomynameisgallery.com/plush

I love googly eyes. They are one of my most favorite things of all time. Therefore, I found this skit to be especially funny. Discovered via the Craft Magazine blog, one of my favorite blogs.

Another one of my favorite things... just turned one year old! MMMMM frosting.

I went up to New Haven on Saturday to attend the opening of Plush! at Hello My Name Is Gallery. It was lots of fun. My good friend Jennifer who I met years ago when we were animators together accompanied me. Thanks for coming Jennifer, you made the trip 10x more fun! The show was excellent. So many fun and interesting plushes. I only took a handful of pics but Teresa took a bunch so you can check out her flickr here and few more on mine too.

Here's Mermarvin and Merlinda the mutant merfolk swimming in the deep blue sea. You can meet them at the PLUSH show in New Haven Connecticut. You can also meet me there and I can meet you too!


DON'T MISS THE OPENING RECEPTION THIS SATURDAY!

Hello My Name Is Gallery presents PLUSH!
Our first international show! Featuring the work of 30+ plush artists from around the globe!
on view from April 5 - 26, 2008.
for a full list of artists please visit out website: www.hellomynameisgallery.com

OPENING RECEPTION: APRIL 5, 2008
from 6:30 to 10PM
$5 suggested donation & BYOB Potluck

with music downstairs presented by ArLoW:
DJ's Johnny Strangler and Garage Flower of Shag Frenzy, Hartford's only indie dance night
and a live set by The Spigot Orchestra.
$5 suggested donation for the DJs & band

eggiweggs


twins


WHEE!

A few more pics on my Flickr.

The deadline to apply is March 29, so hop to it!

Here is a gang of guys I sent over to Chocosho a while back. Only one guy, Mr. Friday Night remains available. They are having a sale right now, so if you need a date for 20% off, Mr. Friday Night is your guy! Use code word SUNSHINE at checkout. The 20% off is good for the whole site!

I do miss Ohio sometimes. I had a great big yard that was great for nature photography. I need to embrace the city landscape more. I think the creatures might like to take some adventures in the city.

I made this rocketshipesque guy at the plush workshop at Etsy Labs a couple of weekends ago. It's always funny to see what manifests as a result of explaining different ways to do things in plush making. He was supposed to have a pink unicorn horn but it never got attached. I guess he will have to maneuver the cosmos hornless.


Anna was one of my students and here is what she made. How cute they are together! Anna wrote about the class over in her blog too. Thanks for coming Anna! I wish I got photographs of everyone's creations. They all turned out great. My good pal Elizabeth was one of my students too. She is so cheerful and a pleasure to see always!


Students hard at work. Plush making is serious business!
It was a very fun group of students and a lovely afternoon at the Labs. This was my fourth plush workshop (first one at Etsy) and the first time I had a male student! I wonder why plush making is primarily a girl thing. Hey boys I want YOU to come to the next one, OK?

Big thanks to Etsy for having me over to spread the plushy love!

Happy Thursday!
Hey it's Ornament Thursday again! The theme this month is Luck and here is my good luck charm. She has bells on her neck so when you shake her she jingles. Say the magic poem while you jingle and you will be lucky for sure!





Blikka blukka bloo
Heya heya heya
Chubba chabby choo
Heya heya heya
Nubba rubba zip
Heya heya heya
Flibba flubba blip
heya heya heya

She is directly inspired by some wacky old toys called "Chunk o Luck" that I can't find a picture for right now. She is truly a scraptacular project. All of the fabric pieces were from my scrap bag. It feels great to use up those little bits and end up with something fun. The silver trim was leftover from my husband's Elvis suit from our wedding. The hair on top is from a Halloween wig. I love cutting up wigs! I got the pink button on Ebay. I think I might hang her near the kitchen sink. I could use some luck tackling the dirty dish pile today. I've done a lot of baking recently.

Check out these links for more LUCKY projects from the OT gang!

Art Bead Scene Lucky ABS! We're part 2 of Lucky Knots!	Labyrinth O' Luck Hali has created a finger labyrinth journal designed after a 4-leaf clover.	Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! You'll "make Jean's day " if you check out her lucky Pendant with a Clint Eastwood eighties twist
Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva Luck is knotted up in Part 1 of this tutorial	Linda Augsburg at Make It Mine magazine Lucky doesn't begin to describe the adventure I had making this T-shirt...	Swelldesigner Swelldesigner gets lucky this month with some super colorful, sparkly painted bangles
Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie is inspired by a lucky Leprechaun to make a fairy tale, treasure filled necklace	Lucky Lucky to be... based on a coin holder a friend made for me...	The Impatient Blogger Luck starts with a wish...Margot shares an project she created for Simply Beads last August.
Jennifer Heynen of Jangles Lucky Charms Bracelet...The name says it all. This bracelet has everything to bring you good luck.	Lucky To Be Me Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? Well, YOU, of course. No matter who you are when you look into this magical mirror, you'll be reminded you're lucky to be you!	Lynn Kvigne - Beading Help Web Irish Proverb Window Ornament - step by step instructions for making this year-round ornament that may bring luck right through your window!
Joolz by Lisa As Luck Would Have It...Lucky Earrings	Katie's Beading Blog Make your own luck with these fun, swingy earrings!	Melissa J. Lee - Strands of Beads Good fortune is yours with this cookie-inspired necklace.

I had a strange dream last night. I couldn't remember it after I awoke, but I was feeling BLUE. Then as I was tidying up this morning, the things on the dining room table sparked a memory of my dream. Here I have recreated it:



OH NO, a big whale was eating all of my Peeps! One by one, slowly yet violently, in a swirling turbulent ocean, he chomped down on them. I guess the stuff lying about last night combined to form this scene in my mind. The fabric was purchased in the 1980s. I have not used any of it yet in all this time, but have been looking at it lately, wondering what I can do with it. It is a knit with good weight to it. The whale came in a large and colorful cocktail many years ago (but in this decade.) I enjoyed the whale much more than the beverage. The Peeps are part of my yearly allowance. I let myself buy them just once each year. This year I bought one blue pack and one pink pack. I love Peeps so much. I could eat so many of them. But they give me a bellyache. Probably because I eat so many at once. I like to eat them fresh but I have a friend who likes to eat them stale. It is a great controversy. My husband just absolutely hates Peeps! When I found out there was a Peeps bus I got so excited I considered hiring it to make an appearance at our wedding. That's when I found out how much he really hates Peeps haha. He had been holding back his hatred for my sake hahahaha. Awwwww. Or maybe he ended up hating them more because I was so crazy about them. So a few weeks after I found out about the existence of the Peeps bus, I actually saw it driving down the highway. For real. I was going east and it was going west. There was a row of bushes in the middle of the highway and I just saw the big Peep on top come up over the hill above the bushes. I thought, "No, it couldn't be! IS IT?!?!" And then I nearly veered off the road in my excitement. Luckily there was not much traffic so I didn't cause an accident. I also saw the Oscar Mayer Hot Dog truck driving on the same highway once. I also saw a very large bear standing on the side of the same highway on his hind legs. He was hardly off the asphalt and seemed so close to me as I drove past him. GRRRRR!

Baby LOVES the whale. She is always carrying it around.

She looks like she is performing a rap song here while L. is amazed by the magical properties of triple crochet.

One more Peeps picture for fun:

They are gone already. YUM!

I upgraded to a two inch binder from a one inch binder. My patterns were busting out. It was getting hard to close the rings. Each pocket holds various creature's patterns. I wonder how many there are in total. Perhaps I can make a book out of a bunch of them.

Not many words today...


Baby's first snow experience




Banana and cool whip sandwich on homemade whole wheat and molasses bread


My sweet husband arranged this sweet goofy bunny duo

Once in a while it's nice to have dessert for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I was organizing my fabric closet and I found some old friends that I made once upon a time.
Here's Mr. Friday Night, Nerdnik, and Mr. Casual Friday.
They have the old black heart label on them which I don't use anymore. Now I use a red heart with a happy face. I can't believe I used to stitch these little things and then turn them inside out. It took so long to make the tags, haha! Now I use an almost as ridiculous method of stitching them, but at least it doesn't take as long. I have been saving links to places that make labels. I really should just buy some and save myself the trouble! If you have any recommendations for label making places, please do share!
I decided to add these guys to my Etsy.


These are the new friends I brought home from the Forest Party. Mountain man, House on a Hill, and Mushroom by Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane. Magical Brownie by Spooky Daddy. I love my new friends! Thanks so much for trading with me Heidi and Spooky!


I made these for my BEST friends! Banana slices, butterscotch pudding, sugar cookies. The pudding didn't come out as good as I had hoped, so I won't share the recipe I used. I will try again until I get it right. Maybe next time I will just try chocolate pudding. I made the sugar cookies using the crust of my favorite recipe. I've been making it for about 12 years now and have always wondered if the crust, which pretty much tastes like a cookie, would be good on its own. The answer is no, not really. So now I know, and will use a different recipe for that next time too. Oh well, all these imperfections didn't stop anyone from gobbling it all up! (Including myself!)

I used to pretend to hate Valentine's Day when I was young and angsty. I thought the punk boys would like me for it. I thought it was cool to hate it, but I always secretly loved it. How silly. But I still have a little bit of anti deep down hiding, in my little black heart.

This little black heart is made from a felted sweater and is about 3.5" x 3.5". I'll probably sew it on to another creature, but that sad thing I have not yet created.


Strawberry milk and sugar cookies


from my sweetie

We went to out to brunch this morning for a little Valentine date. It was really nice. We both got French toast. I ordered one single pancake for the baby and it was bigger than her head! Because Mark is a tattoo artist, that means he often works late, leaving no time for night time dates. So this morning he surprised me with the pretty bouquet above and I presented him with a lovely print by Tom Kenney, which I got from Heidi last weekend at the Forest Party. I thought it was perfect for a tattoo artist with a plush making wife - artwork made by a another tattoo artist with a plush making wife!

Happy Valentine's Day!